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Andruw Jones

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Andruw Jones
Jones with the Dodgers in 2008
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 25
Center Field
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
August 15, 1996, for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
(through August 9, 2008)
Batting average.259
Home runs371
Runs batted in1,131
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Andruw Rudolf Jones (born April 23, 1977 in Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles) is an Antillean Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

During his first two years with the Braves, Jones most often appeared as a right fielder. However, since then, he has played exclusively in center field. Aside from 1996, when he appeared in 32 games, Jones appeared in 150 or more games in each year of his career up to 2008, when he will not do so.

Jones is a noted defensive specialist and has won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year since 1998.

He has appeared in the All-star Game five times and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005. In 2002, he was the inaugural National League All-Star Final Vote winner.

Early professional career

Jones signed with the Atlanta Braves organization as a free agent in 1993 at the age of 16. By 1996, he was being hailed as "the next Griffey.[citation needed]" The Braves brought Jones up to Atlanta on August 15,1996 when he was just 19 years old. He spent his early time in the majors playing in right field because established center fielders Marquis Grissom and Kenny Lofton were already entrenched in the position.

In Game 1 of the 1996 World Series on October 20,1996, Jones was able to demonstrate his talents on the national stage. He connected for two home runs to left field on his first two at-bats as the Braves routed the New York Yankees 12-1. Jones became the youngest player ever to homer in the World Series (breaking Mickey Mantle's record - on Mantle's birthday.)

Major league career

Atlanta Braves

Jones became the Braves' everyday right fielder in 1997, but posted a disappointing .231 average. In 1998, he moved to center field and had a much more encouraging season. His average improved to .271, he hit 31 homers, and stole 27 bases. He also won his first of ten straight Gold Glove Awards.

Whether he was in the batter's box or gliding under a fly ball to make a casual basket catch, Jones played the game in a very relaxed manner. This temporarily earned him the ire of manager Bobby Cox in June 1998 in an incident in which Cox pulled Jones out of a game because he felt Jones had lazily allowed a single to drop in center field.

Still only 22 years old, Jones had similar numbers in 1999, and though he was a dependable (he played all 162 games that season) and good player, many began to wonder if or when he would live up to the potential that they believed he possessed. He had a mini-breakout season in 2000 with career highs in average (.303), homers (36), and RBI (104). He also earned his first All-Star appearance.

However, in 2001 his average fell and his strikeouts went up. By now, Jones had gained nearly 30 pounds since reaching the majors, greatly diminishing his speed on the basepaths (he would not steal more than 11 bases after 2001). He maintained similar numbers in 2002, but was still playing superb defense. In 2003, with power-hitting Gary Sheffield in the lineup, Jones set a new career high in RBI (116). Unfortunately, he took a step backward in 2004 when he hit fewer than 30 homers and struck out 147 times.

Breakout in 2005

Although Jones had developed into an outstanding center fielder and a solid offensive player, the general feeling shared by many fans and critics was that Jones had not lived up to the superstar expectations that had been pinned on him ten years before[citation needed].

Andruw Jones at bat in 2006

Prior to the 2005 season, Jones increased his workout regimen and, following advice given by Hall of Famer Willie Mays, widened his batting stance. The result was his most productive offensive season ever. Jones hit a major league-leading 51 home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron's and Eddie Mathews' single-season club record. He also led the National League with a career-high 128 RBI. Jones' torrid hitting in the summer, especially while teammate Chipper Jones was out with injury, helped carry the Braves to their 14th consecutive division championship. He finished just behind St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols in the 2005 NL MVP vote.

2006

Before the 2006 season, Jones played in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands. Jones continued to dominate opposing pitchers in 2006, finishing the season with 41 home runs and 129 RBI. Jones also became more selective at the plate (82 walks, as compared to 64 the prior season), which helped him score 107 runs during 2006, an increase of 12 over the prior year and his most in a single season since 2000. He won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove award.

2007

Jones with the Braves in 2007

Coming into the last year of his current contract with the Braves, many fans and sports analysts alike felt that 2007 would be the last year in which Jones would be a Brave, mostly because of his potential value on the market that the Braves would not be able to afford. Jones, however, had an unexpectedly poor start to the season, striking out 51 times in 41 games and carrying a batting average in the low .200s for the majority of April and May.

On April 30th, Jones hit a three-run walk-off homer against the Philadelphia Phillies. On May 28th, Jones hit his 350th career homer off of Chris Capuano. After the All-Star break, Jones continued to have productive power numbers; however, his batting average remained poor.

On October 2nd, the Braves announced they would not be bringing Jones back for the 2008 season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

2008

Jones (25) with White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko during spring training action, 2008.
Jones (bottom left) with Dodgers teammates Andre Ethier and Juan Pierre in 2008.

On December 5, 2007, Jones agreed to a 2-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, worth $36.2 million. [1] This was a surprising development to not just Dodger fans, but many baseball experts, as Jones had clearly lost a step defensively, hit only .222 in his final season with Atlanta, and according to Braves management, lost his passion for the game. His struggles at the plate and in the field followed him to Los Angeles, as he went through a rough slump that lasted the whole season. Even more frustrating for his teammates, as of July 26th, 2008, he had only 4 hits in 53 at bats with runners in scoring position. This lack of performance forced him into the back of the lineup, and has resulted in booing from fans after failing to hit.

In a season full of misplayed balls, and strike out after strike out, Jones' singular highlight came when on April 19 he hit his first home run as a Dodger, appropriately enough at Turner Field against the Braves. Due to his lack of production, Jones was dropped to eighth in the Dodger line-up. This is the first time since 1998 that Jones has hit eighth in any line-up.

Jones was put on the disabled list for the first time in his entire career on May 25, 2008. He had knee surgery after a bad batting practice earlier that day.

On July 27, 2008 Dodgers manager Joe Torre benched Jones and said he would only be used as a spot starter in the future, effectively giving up on the season. On the day he was benched Jones had a .166 batting average, two home runs and 12 RBIs coupled with 68 strikeouts in 187 at-bats.[1].

Personal life

Jones met his wife Nicole in an Atlanta mall in 1998. The couple married in 2002, and he has a daughter, Madison, from a previous relationship and a son, Druw with Nicole. Andruw and his family currently live in Duluth, Georgia. He has said that he and his family will continue to live in Duluth in the off season.

Jones' current car collection, as showcased on MTV Cribs and Unique Whips, includes:

Career Stats

(Through September 10, 2008)

Season Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI SB CS SH SF BB IBB HBP SO GIDP AVG SLG OBP OPS
1996 ATL 31 106 11 23 7 1 5 47 13 3 0 0 0 7 0 0 29 1 .217 .443 .265 .708
1997 ATL 153 399 60 92 18 1 18 166 70 20 11 5 3 56 2 4 107 11 .231 .416 .329 .745
1998 ATL 159 582 89 158 33 8 31 300 90 27 4 1 4 40 8 4 129 10 .271 .515 .321 .836
1999 ATL 162 592 97 163 35 5 26 286 84 24 12 0 2 76 11 9 103 11 .275 .483 .365 .848
2000 ATL 161 656 122 199 36 6 36 355 104 21 6 0 5 59 0 9 100 12 .303 .541 .366 .907
2001 ATL 161 625 104 157 25 2 34 288 104 11 4 0 9 56 3 3 142 10 .251 .461 .312 .773
2002 ATL 154 560 91 148 34 0 35 287 94 8 3 0 6 83 4 10 135 14 .264 .513 .366 .879
2003 ATL 156 595 101 165 28 2 36 305 116 4 3 0 6 53 2 5 125 18 .277 .513 .338 .851
2004 ATL 154 570 85 149 34 4 29 278 91 6 6 0 2 71 9 3 147 24 .261 .488 .345 .833
2005 ATL 160 586 95 154 24 3 51 337 128 5 3 0 7 64 13 15 112 19 .263 .575 .347 .922
2006 ATL 156 565 107 148 29 0 41 300 129 4 1 0 9 82 9 13 127 13 .262 .531 .363 .894
2007 ATL 154 572 83 127 27 2 26 236 94 5 2 0 9 70 4 8 138 16 .222 .413 .311 .724
2008 LAD 75 209 21 33 8 1 3 52 14 0 1 0 1 27 0 1 76 5 .158 .249 .256 .505
Total 13 years 1836 6817 1066 1716 338 35 371 3237 1131 138 56 6 63 744 65 84 1470 164 .259 .489 .339 .828

■ = Led National League

■ = Led Majors

Awards and Accomplishments

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andruw Jones.

References

  1. ^ http://www.dailynews.com/ci_10028088?source=rss

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Youngest Player in the
National League
1996-1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
June 2005
August 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Home Run Champion
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League RBI Champion
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Hank Aaron Award
2005 		Succeeded by

Template:BD

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